History of Munich Tracht

Unlike what the forefathers of the Tracht movement postulated,
there has never been one certain traditional costume,
not even for one clearly defined region.

What is traditional costume, anyway? There is no garment that was handed down
through generations. Everything changed according to the fashion imported from
whatever country was currently the leader of fashion. It was first introduced
by the nobility and with a certain time lag, it appeared in citizens', then
even in rural costume. This can be seen in pictures where e.g.

a common Munich woman of the mid 17th century wears the
wheel collar that belongs to late 16th century Spanish fashion

a common Munich woman of the late 18th century sports sleeve
cuffs that had been common until c. 1740.

The time lag, which obviously was about 50 years at first,
became shorter until the very early 19h century when costume
items based on the fashion of decades ago, such as the Mieder
(derived from 18th century stays) incorporated current fashion
by developing a high Empire (Regency) waist.

Munich Tracht as it is known today developed during the early
years of the 19th century. At first it reflected late 18th century
and Empire traits, then developed into its height by incorporating
the Biedermeier fashion, only to dissolve into "normal"
fashion around the mid 19th century. It almost became lost,
but then people started a re-creation movement based on the
version that had last been distinctive, the one of 1825-1835.
During those years, the Munich ladies' costume had been at its
most attractive and regionally distinctive and was therefore
well documented.

Speaking of region: Munich was much smaller then that it is
now. A matter of course, you might think, but one tends to forget.
Places that are now considered pretty central, such as Schwabing,
Neuhausen and Haidhausen, were villages inhabited by peasants,
well outside city limits, and did not become incorporated until
the very late 19th century. The city of Munich had been a distinct
legal and cultural entity, protected by city walls dating from
12th century, so its costume was also different from that of
the surrounding villages.

Early 19th century commoners' costume was frozen in time because of its distinctness,
the amount of documentation and not the least because of its elegance. Now it
is regarded as the traditional costume of Munich. The unique clothing
items developed during that time include the Spenzer, the Mieder,
and - most distinctive of all - the Riegelhaube.

Content, layout and images of this page and any sub-page of the domains marquise.de, contouche.de,
lumieres.de, manteau.de and costumebase.org are copyright (c) 1997-2016 by A. Bender. All rights
reserved. Reproduction prohibited - exceptions see Copyright Page.